Why Jurong’s HDB rental yields are outpacing the rest of Singapore

Jurong’s development as Singapore’s first industrial estate started in 1961. More than six decades later, that identity continues to shape Jurong East and Jurong West — including their HDB rental markets today.

Rental yields for HDB flats in both Jurong towns are among the highest islandwide.

While relatively lower resale prices contribute to these yields, two other factors could be supporting rental demand: Jurong’s diverse employment base and a renter pool that may include more work pass holders who have fewer pathways to home ownership.

Rental yields in Jurong among highest islandwide

Rental yields of four- and five-room flats in Jurong East and Jurong West have consistently exceeded the islandwide yield (see Charts 1 and 2). Rental yield is calculated as a year’s median rent for a whole flat divided by the median resale price for each town and flat type.

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For example, at the block level, four-room flats at 466 Jurong West Street 41 recorded a median resale price of $461,500 and a median monthly rent of $3,450 in 2Q2026. This translates to a gross rental yield of 8.97% (see Table 1).

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At 166B Yung Kuang Road in Jurong West, four-room flats recorded a median resale price of $650,000 and monthly rent of $3,800 in the same quarter, translating to a yield of 7.02%.

And in 19 of the past 22 quarters, both Jurong East and Jurong West ranked among the top two towns for rental yields of four-room flats. When it came to five-room flats, Jurong West ranked among the top two in 21 of 22 quarters, while Jurong East did so in 13.

To understand what is driving these yields, it is necessary to look at rents and resale prices.

Rents are up, but still below the priciest towns

During the decade from 1Q2016 to 2Q2026, rents of four- and five-room flats in Jurong East rose 45% and 52%, respectively. Jurong West recorded similar increases of 52% and 48%.

Islandwide, median rents went up by 50% for four-room flats and 52% for five-room flats over the same period (see Chart 3).

This suggests rental growth in Jurong has broadly tracked the wider HDB market.

That said, in terms of absolute value, rents in both Jurong towns remain well below those in Singapore’s most expensive rental locations (see Charts 4 and 5). In 2Q2026, rents in Jurong East and Jurong West were between 24% and 27% lower than those in the highest-rent towns.

Read also: Has the HDB market decoupled from the private property market?

For example, even the five highest rents in Jurong East in the second quarter of this year — ranging from $4,300 to $4,600 per month (see Table 2) — only hovered around Queenstown’s median of $4,400 and were significantly lower than the Central Area’s median of $5,100 (see Chart 5).

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Out of the 130 rental transactions recorded in Jurong East that quarter, only 31 reached $4,000 or more.

Home values have lagged the wider market

In the HDB resale market, price growth in Jurong also trailed the islandwide median for both four- and five-room flats between 1Q2016 and 2Q2026 (see Chart 6).

In Jurong East, resale prices for four-room flats rose 38%, while five-room flats’ prices grew 19%. Jurong West recorded a similar 37% increase for four-room flats and a stronger 32% gain for five-room flats.

In contrast, median resale prices across Singapore climbed more quickly at 58% for fourroom flats and 54% for five-room flats over that decade.

In the second quarter of this year, the median resale price of a four-room flat in Jurong East was $559,444, compared with $630,000 across Singapore. Jurong West’s median was even lower at $530,000. This puts pric-es in the two towns at 11% and 16% below the islandwide median, respectively.

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A similar gap can be seen for five-room units, with median resale prices in Jurong East and Jurong West 2% and 14% lower, respectively.

Rents have grown faster than resale prices in Jurong

The relationship between rents and resale prices could help explain why yields in Jurong have remained high.

Take Jurong West’s fourroom flats for example. Rents advanced 52% between 1Q2016 and 2Q2026, while resale prices grew by a smaller 37%.

Given that rental yield is calculated based on rent relative to a property’s value, it can increase when rents grow more quickly than resale prices. This can be seen in both Jurong towns, where yields for four- and five- room flats were higher in 2Q2026 than they were 10 years ago (see Charts 1 and 2).

Beyond this price relationship, Jurong’s employment profile could also be supporting rental demand.

Diverse employment base brings broad tenant pool

Together, Jurong East and Jurong West form one of Singapore’s largest employment nodes outside the CBD.

SingStat’s General Household Survey 2025 recorded 109,700 resident working persons across the two towns, behind only the Downtown Core, Queenstown and Geylang.

Jurong’s employment base also spans a broad range of industries. Petrochemicals and energy processing are concentrated on Jurong Island, while manufacturing has a longstanding base at Jurong Industrial Estate.

The Jurong Innovation District supports advanced manufacturing and Industry 4.0 activities, while Nanyang Technological University provides academic and administrative employment. Farther west, Tuas Port generates logistics and port-related jobs.

This mix potentially generates rental demand from workers across a diverse range of occupations and income levels — from plant and shift workers to researchers and office staff.

Such breadth is noteworthy, as other major employment nodes outside the CBD tend to have a narrower industry mix. Woodlands, for example, has a strong semiconductor manufacturing and cross-border trade presence, while Tampines has commercial back offices, retail and semiconductor manufacturing.

Jurong, meanwhile, combines heavy industry, advanced manufacturing, higher education and logistics within the wider western employment corridor.

Many working in Jurong may rely on renting long term

At the same time, Jurong’s industrial employment base may also mean that a portion of its workforce holds work passes that limit their ability to purchase HDB resale flats, potentially creating a pool of longer-term renters.

Jurong West ranked third among planning areas for resident employment in manufacturing, behind Tuas and Pioneer, according to SingStat’s survey.

While the survey covers residents rather than foreign workers, Jurong’s concentration of labour-intensive industries suggests that non-resident workers are also an important part of its employment base.

The Ministry of Manpower issues work permits to workers in sectors including construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard and process. Several of these overlap with Jurong’s industrial base.

However, not every foreign worker employed in these sectors can rent an HDB flat. HDB imposes eligibility conditions on the rental of whole flats and bedrooms, including restrictions based on work pass type and sector.

For eligible workers, renting may nevertheless be a longer-term necessity. Work Permit holders, for example, do not have a direct pathway to permanent residency through their work pass and therefore cannot purchase HDB resale flats while remaining on that pass.

Demand from workers employed in Boon Lay, Pioneer and Tuas could also spill over into neighbouring Jurong West, where there is a much larger housing stock.

This may partly explain why rental growth for four-room flats has been stronger in Jurong West than in Jurong East, although the transaction data alone cannot establish a direct link.

What does this mean for Jurong’s rental yields?

Jurong East and Jurong West have consistently recorded HDB rental yields above the islandwide level over the past decade.

Part of the explanation lies in the numbers. Rents have grown faster than resale prices, while home prices in both towns remain below the islandwide median.

Jurong’s employment profile could be another contributing factor. Its mix of manufacturing, petrochemicals, advanced manufacturing, higher education and logistics supports a broad employment base, while some workers may have fewer options to transition from renting to home ownership.

Jurong West could also benefit from rental demand spilling over from nearby employment nodes such as Pioneer and Tuas, where housing options are more limited.

Looking ahead, the rental landscape could change as Tengah, HDB’s newest town, matures. Bordering Jurong, Tengah will be connected to the wider western region by the future Jurong Region Line. As its housing stock expands, Tengah could offer another option for tenants who are based in the west.

Whether that moderates rental demand in Jurong or simply redistributes it across the wider western region remains to be seen.